THE CHANGING SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF HONG KONG'S POPULATION: AN ANALYSIS OF THE 1991 POPULATION CENSUS

The Hong Kong Government recently released the major findings of the 1991 Population Census. A comparison of these with the findings of previous censuses revealed a certain degree of stability in Hong Kong's socio-spatial fabric and demonstrated resilence in Hong Kong's inner-city neighbourhoods. The launching of the massive New Town development programme in the 1970s and 1980s certainly has resulted in a decentralization of the population to the more outlying areas. But some of the Territory's oldest districts, including Western and Sheung Wan, were able to retain their population. The process of population redistribution seemed to operate rather differently on the two sides of Victoria Harbour. While the inner-city neighbourhoods in Kowloon reported a continuous outflow of population, for Hong Kong Island as a whole an increase in population in the period 1981–1991 occurred.

In terms of the distribution of income over space, the degree of stability exhibited was even more remarkable. The traditional high-status districts, which include Mid-Levels and the Peak on the Island and the central part of Kowloon Peninsula, remain a favourite choice of residence among the high-income households in the early 1990s. ‘Gentrification’ is evident in the Eastern District on the Island. Urban decay which is so common in cities in the West is, in the main, absent in Hong Kong. However, in terms of the age distribution of population over space, segregation is increasingly evident. The outflows from the inner-city areas to the New Towns were largely made up of the newly married couples, together with their offspring. The ageing of the population is much more pronounced in the inner-city neighbourhoods. This spatial segregation of the population according to age has serious implications for social service delivery and the provision of education facilities in Hong Kong in the years to come.